Photography Emailers - Is this Spam?

What I really hate is a great lunch ruined by the rest of my industry when I get that inevitable comment "so, what's up with this email thing, it's killing me". It's the constant criticism of the way photographers go about promoting themselves is the charming bulk email that we think of as "reaching out". Yep, that bit where we hit send on multiple thousands of emails sent to creatives is actually not a huge hit with them.

Let's think about why shall we? First off how often have you suddenly decided that "Rolex" or knock-off Viagra from Canada is a great purchase and that the online-retailer is a reputable source. So what's the difference between them and you; you're both sending bulk unsolicited, unrequested marketing materials. Photography is a unique product, you should sell on quality and style, I'm a big proponent of direct mail, opt-in email and on-line content (hence a blog with a twitter-feed). What I am against is the use of your potential clients primary source of communication (email) to scream your "message". It's insulting and demeaning to you and them that you think that tossing a quick email into their inbox is suddenly going to make you their top-choice.

So what's the alternative; unfortunately you're going to need to focus on networking, public relations and targeted direct marketing. Meet those creatives that can hire you in person, build a name for yourself and your work with a defined style and genre and then match the two together with marketing materials that have genuine value.

So how does this happen. The key protagonists in this practice and the organizations that represent the photographers’ professional interests (funnily enough they sponsor each other – funny isn’t it) are AdBase and Agency Access, who sell those details, and APA and ASMP who represent thousands of professional photographers. The basic practice is that once every ninety days a representative from AdBase and Agency Access and ask for the personal details of your clients and a receptionist hands them over. Then a photographer buys access to the list and pings thousands of unrelated creatives they have never met.

If you’re interested in trying to stop this flood of unsolicited mail feel free to contact them and let them know how you feel:

Agency Access www.agencyaccess.com
Click on the contact info

AdBase www.adbase.com
Nelson Nunes President & Co-Founder
nelson@adbase.com

American Society of Media Photographers www.asmp.org
Click on contact info and contact the board

Advertising Photographers of America www.apanational.com
Constance Evans, National CEO
ExecDirector@APAnational.com

I believe this practice is killing the perception of photography; it devalues us and our clients. If you want to do something else then here’s an online petition I set-up:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/photographerspam/index.html

Go sign it, tell others to sign it, spread the word and who knows APA. ASMP, Agency Access, AdBase and thousands of individual photographers may pay attention. Or they may not. I would love to hear from other people on what they think of this issue.

Flash; it ain't always good...

Websites; kinda critical to a photographer but as with most things in life there is a right way and a wrong way to do a website. The most important thing is that the content is relevant to your key client group(s), the contact info is readily available, the branding message is clearly tied into your business card and other collateral and that the stuff actually looks good.

It doesn't need to zoom, whiz, crash, bang or perform internet gymnastics. That stuff might be part of your brand or necessary to impress some high design clients but it's not that important.

So why do we all have these fancy flash sites that are totally unreadable to search engines, unable to be bookmarked, slow to load and aren't always easy to navigate. As you buy those "off-the-shelf" solutions try and focus on why you need the site; to put the images that are relevant in front of your clients. Make them easy to search (try one navigation system not free - I keep seeing thumbnails, forward and back arrows and slide shows - all I want to do is see one at a time), number them if you can't bookmark them - so clients can tell you clearly what they like. Make sure your contact info is on every page and make sure you have a contact page that will get to you as swiftly as possible and has some info on who you are and what you shoot.

The "off-the-shelf" solutions will work, but try and see if you can tailor it to make it a better sales tool, not just a cool-looking site.

Direct Mail - Why don't they call!

Well, the simple answer is they didn't connect with your piece. Direct mail is a really good tool to get work in front of an array of people that would otherwise miss out on even knowing you're out there. It also has a terrible rate of return. So how can you make direct mail actually pay off. I've got some simple advice:

1) Value - make the direct mail piece have some degree of value; this could be in the type of paper you use or a physical gift associated with the imagery (wine, chocolates, beer). The concept is to make the creative realize you value their time.
2) Repetition - you need to send more than piece to the prospect. You really do. They receive hundreds of pieces a month (some hundreds a day) so you need to tap them on the shoulder more than once. I recommend four; it takes three impressions to really effect someone and this gives them a chance to completely miss one mailer and still remember you.
3) Target - don't swamp everyone in the industry, don't subscribe to AdBase and throw thousands of mailers are people you have no chance of leading. At first target firms locally; these will be firms you can visit easily, you know their names, their clients, and you may even know creative staff that work there. By targeting a small number you will be able to afford the mailer, you can follow-up with those contacts and you can ensure your mailer is relevant.

The bottom line is that direct mail does work when the recipient is carefully selected, feels valued and is repeatedly contacted (including a follow-up call at the end).